As various types of products are developed for an item, life cycles of products are getting shorter. As the Internet is prevailed, customers become preferred to receive customized service. Due to these factors, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and One-to-One marketing is getting required. These techniques are very effective in improving customer satisfaction and in cultivating the market and enclosing the customers.
The one-to-one marketing is a kind of database marketing. It makes a database of personal attribute information including customer's age, sex, interest, preference, and purchase history; analyses the contents of the database; and proposes a service or goods to the customers according to what the customers need. A typical example of the specific techniques is a variable print. As DTP (desk top publishing) technique has advanced and digital printing devices have prevailed, a variable print system for outputting a document customized for each customer has been developed. For such a variable print system, it is required to create a customized document with appropriately laying out the contents varying for each customer.
Generally, in the variable print system, a container is laid out on a document to create such a customized document. A container is a partial area for drawing contents (drawn contents) and often called a field area. That is to say, a customized document (document) is created through operations of laying out such a container on a document and associating the layout with database (associating each of the contents in database with each container). Such a document will be called a variable data document (sometimes simply called template) hereinafter.
In the variable print system, each laid out container is able to receive contents varying for each customer. The size of data to be inserted in the container is variable. When the container size is fixed, problems below will occur. For example, when text data with a size larger than that of the container is inserted, all of the text cannot be displayed in the container. Or, when image data with a size larger than that of the container is inserted, a part of the image is lost. This kind of problem is called overflow.
For example, when the contents are image data, the image can be scaled-down to be drawn in the container, with a probability of extremely little image being displayed. Or, when text data, too large for the fixed sized container, is tried inserted in the container, the font size of the text can be reduced to allow for the entire text to be displayed in the container. When the font size is adjusted, however, a problem occurs in that the font size becomes too little that the entire document becomes imbalanced or unreadable.
On the other hand, an automatic layout system is developed for solving the abovementioned problems by setting the container size for a text or an image flexible. In the automatic layout system, the container size for a text or an image can be set flexible. The automatic layout system can be adapted to make the container size flexible so that the container size can be scaled up according to the amount of data to be inserted. Another technique is also developed for displaying the entire text in the container by reducing the font size of the text, when the text data larger than the fixed sized container is inserted.
A problem occurs in that a container of a flexible size overlaps another container on the same document, when the container of a flexible size is scaled up. Another problem occurs in that the font size become too little, when the font size is adjusted for the entire text to be displayed in a container and the amount of the text to be displayed is large.
As an automatic layout technique for solving the problems, a technique is known that relates to a layout design device for scaling down the size of a container adjacent to another container to keep the distance between the containers, when the size of the second container is scaled up (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-129658 (0049, FIG. 8)).
Another technique is known that relates to a layout control device for controlling a layout when it outputs an image through a printing device, though the layout control device does not dynamically layout each object (container) again for the purpose (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-15215).
On the other hand, as the type of data varies among for example a character, a spreadsheet and an image, a structure for defining data or an editing operation for the data also varies. Generally, various application programs are provided for each type of data. A User chooses an application program to use for each type of data. For example, a user chooses an application program to use for each type of data, such as using a character processing program for editing characters, a spreadsheet program for editing a spreadsheet, or an image editing program for editing an image.
As a document created by a user, a document including multiple types of data, such as characters and spreadsheets or characters and images, is more general than a document including a single type of data, such as characters only, spreadsheets only or images only. A user who is to create an intended document including multiple types of data needs to print data for each application by using a printing function provided for each application and combine the printed matter in a desired order.
In contrast, as a program for forming a single integrated application with various types of applications so-called office suite, a program is known for providing a function of combining data generated by each of the applications and making up a document. A user who uses this integrated application can combine data created by each of the applications into a single intended document by a specific application included in the integrated application.
As the intended document created by the integrated application, however, is a single document file, the file is managed for editing and outputting or the like by file and a problem occurs in that too many restrictions resulting from functions of the application prevents a format for a part of the document file from being set. For example, for that purpose, the operations of changing format setting for each part where the format of the document file changes and reprinting the document are required. Thus, the user himself needs to provide an interface between the applications. This requires the user too much labor, degrading productivity. Due to so many manual operations, this technique is subjected to high occurrence of many errors in processing.
In order to solve the problem, another document processing system is known for improving productivity by converting a data file created by a general application into an electronic manuscript file with an electric manuscript writer. In such a system, format data such as an N page printing, a double-sided printing or stapling can be stored with an electronic manuscript file and the document can be printed in the previously stored format without requiring the user to set the format again.
There is a case, however, where a layout file, which is a single document file generated by an integrated application, is taken in the abovementioned document processing system and operated in conjunction with the system. As a person who designs a layout (for example, a template designer) typically does not consider the setting made on a document processing system (for example, binding margin setting) in the abovementioned case, the document file laid out without consideration of the setting made on the document processing system is not necessarily printed out in an appropriate state. For example, when biding margin is set on the document processing system, a problem occurs in that the entire of the document file that must has been appropriately laid out on an integrated application moves so that a part of the document or the like displayed in a container is lost when the document is printed out or the page is scaled down to match the printing area.